text: Mitel is to separate its semiconductor and systems businesses, following weak revenues and profits from the systems division.Strong semiconductor sales bolstered Mitel Corp's second quarter results, with semiconductor turnover up 39 per cent on the same period last year to $194.3m and net profits up by 142 per cent to $40.2m. The semiconductor division's buoyant performance was set against a lacklustre showing by the Communications Systems division, which turned in revenues and operating income down on the same quarter last year. As a result, Mitel Corp's overall revenues were up just 3 per cent to $359.8m, with net income down to $6.6m compared to $12.5m for the second quarter last year. The Mitel board has announced that it will separate the two divisions, which have been diverging in terms of customer base, technology roadmap, investment requirements and competitive needs. Mitel is forecasting that semiconductor sales will grow by 30 per cent during the coming year, boosted by innovative products like the company's recently-announced Voice over Internet Protocol (VoIP) chipset. By contrast, it expects systems sales to be 20 per cent below fiscal 2000.


text:
Today, the newest addition to the Blossom empire opened its doors in Midtown West at Ninth Avenue, bringing the total number of locations for the popular New York vegan restaurant chain to eight. The new Blossom Du Jour is the third fast-food-style restaurant in the chain, offering quick and casual plant-based options such as BLT Caesar Sandwiches, Skyscraper Burgers piled high with onion rings and soy bacon, and spicy Buffalo Wraps. Through the month of September, VegNews readers are invited to receive a 10-percent discount on any of the items at the new BDJ. This isn’t its only expansion this year; in spring, Blossom opened a bakery in Chelsea and a new Café Blossom location in the West Village.
Subscribe now to the world’s #1

domain: news


text:
EL PE Engineers in exclusive Transense deal in India
Transense Technologies plc has announced that its trading division, IntelliSAW has entered into an exclusive distribution agreement with EL PE Engineers, headquartered in Vadodara, India. EL PE currently provides advanced systems technology and engineering support for the electric power industry.
As part of this agreement EL PE will provide exclusive distribution for IntelliSAW’s innovative wireless/passive temperature monitoring system in the Indian market. In return for exclusive terms EL PE has agreed to a minimum revenue target over the next two years of US$375,000.
Ashok Bhavsar, CEO of EL PE Engineers, said: “We view IntelliSAW as a strong strategic fit with our current business. As the distributor of Doble products in India we see great synergy in adding IntelliSAW products to our portfolio. Our team is ready to leverage these strengths across India’s electric power industry.”
Graham Storey, CEO of Transense, commented, “IntelliSAW is pleased to add EL PE Engineering to its expanding distributor network. EL PE has considerable expertise with electrical asset management solutions and will manage the installation and after sales support of our switchgear monitoring systems for the Indian power industry. This decision serves to further our overall strategy to implement strong coverage in emerging markets. We anticipate healthy growth of our business working in partnership with EL PE.”
Transense has originated piezo powered RFID and TPMS technology that has been licensed by manufacturers such as tyre manufacturers such as Michelin and automotive suppliers such as Honeywell. The latest news follows a series of similar deals in other key emerging markets such as Brazil and China.


text:
It may have made another sort of mistake in solar energy
The company had a head start on technology that allows solar cells to be manufactured more cheaply, but lost out to Chinese competitors.
BP has had its share of missteps, including the worst oil spill in history. It may have made another sort of mistake in solar energy—failing to capitalize on an important advance that has now been taken up by Chinese solar-panel makers. The advance could help the Chinese companies maintain their overwhelming lead in the solar industry.
The technology is a new method for transforming chunks of raw silicon into large cubes of crystalline silicon. These large cubes can then be sliced into wafers to make solar cells. The new process results in monocrystalline silicon—which is needed for high-efficiency solar cells—at roughly half the cost of current methods. Most of the solar panels sold today use lower-quality multicrystalline silicon, which results in lower-power solar cells.
The new technology can be retrofitted to existing equipment, so factories that make multicrystalline solar cells could be quickly and cheaply upgraded to produce monocrystalline cells. The efficiency gains enabled by the technology could transform a 500-megawatt per year factory into a 540-megawatt factory (measured in the power output of the solar panels a factory produces).
The technology was originally developed and demonstrated on commercial-scale production equipment by BP in 2006, when it also announced its intention to put the technology into large-scale production. But BP never commercialized the technology. In the following three years, the company manufactured and installed thousands of solar panels using the technology for testing. Then, in March 2010, it closed its manufacturing operations, and development of the technology ground to a halt. BP later sold rights to the technology to the Dutch company AMG Advanced Metallurgical Group.
Meanwhile, a handful of Chinese solar-panel manufacturers, including Suntech, the world’s largest solar-cell manufacturer, have developed their own versions of the same process. Suntech started selling solar panels made using the process last summer.
“BP was very conservative,” says Roger Clark, chief operating officer at AMG IdealCast Solar, who was part of the research effort at BP Solar. “Even though they had publicized the technology at a trade show, they wanted to make sure that the wafers were stable.”
While BP carried out testing, some key details of the technology were becoming public knowledge. BP applied for a patent on the process, and, in 2007, the U.S. Patent Office published the patent applications. BP researchers also described aspects of the technology at conferences.
Clark worries that the “technology leaked out by diffusion.” He says, “I’m sure people started putting enough information together to be at least moderately successful in replicating the process elsewhere.”
Read more . . .
Bookmark this page for “solar innovation” and check back regularly as these articles update on a very frequent basis. The view is set to “news”. Try clicking on “video” and “2” for more articles.


text:
updated 11:25 am EST, Tue December 2, 2008
Needham on iPhone Share
The iPhone is now not only the second most popular smartphone in the world but has saved the smartphone industry from a decline this past summer, according to a research note by Needham analyst Charlie Wolf. Apple's handset has represented about 16.6 percent of the entire smartphone market worldwide for the quarter ended in September and is now second only to Nokia. The latter has already acknowledged struggling smartphone share but is now known to have plummeted from 63.3 percent of the market a year ago to 43.6 percent owing largely to the spike in iPhone sales triggered by its 3G version.
The figure was also partly buoyed by RIM's BlackBerries and the overall range of Windows Mobile phones, though each of these declined slightly between the spring and summer.
Apple's relaunch has been strong enough that it ultimately masked a potential stall in the overall smartphone market. While the rate of growth was flat between spring and summer at 28.6 percent, Apple's presence has been the "only reason" the market didn't slow down significantly, Wolf says.
In the US, Apple is now also second only to RIM, earning about 30 percent of the country's smartphone sales through the iPhone versus the BlackBerry lineup's 40 percent. Windows Mobile and Palm OS are continuing to decline with Microsoft's platform holding 17 percent and Palm less than 10 percent.
The analyst explains the sudden shift towards iPhones as a reflection of a wider preference for the business models used by Apple and RIM, both of whom make the operating systems for their own devices and so have greater control over the hardware itself. While licensing operating systems for multiple hardware devices has worked well on PCs until recently, most smartphone makers have been reluctant to allow a second Microsoft monopoly with Windows Mobile and so reportedly chose Symbian more for its anti-Microsoft status than its merits.
"The Symbian operating system is generally considered to be less robust than
Windows Mobile or the Palm OS," Wolf claims. "But Symbian was able to retain a huge lead over competing operating systems chiefly through Nokia's endorsement and marketing muscle, especially in Europe, along with Microsoft's difficulties in attracting major handset manufacturers."
Symbian's share may decline further as some developers opt for Google's free Android platform instead, the researcher says, also noting that Microsoft has essentially had the advantages of Office and its Exchange servers taken away by the BlackBerry and the nature of the smartphone market. The desire from companies such as HTC and Sony Ericsson to develop front-ends like TouchFLO or the XPERIA panels for Windows Mobile simply shows that many of them have felt a need to mask a difficult stock interface, Wolf adds.
He is cautious to provide guidance and notes that Android's impact is liable to change as more phones and carriers come onboard beyond the existing range, which is limited to HTC's G1 for T-Mobile in the US and Europe. He nonetheless notes that the just-launched BlackBerry Storm is unlikely to gain traction given a series of high-profile mixed or negative reviews that attack the phone for neither outpacing the iPhone in the touchscreen market nor catering to RIM's core business audience.
"The Storm will probably ignite an upgrade cycle among some BlackBerry users," he writes. "But it's unlikely to lure a significant number of mobile phone users into the BlackBerry fold."


text:
May 23, 2019 By Lisa
Can expertise firms actually change the world for one of the best, or have Silicon Valley's well-being postures gone uncontrolled?
It will depend on who you ask.
On the 2019 Collision in Toronto, the kick-off convention of expertise personalities, from journalist Kara Swisher to Canadian Prime Minister Justin Trudeau, got here to speak about expertise. This can be a thorny downside that arises in all places. Throughout a spherical desk, Alain Sylvain, founding father of the technique and design consultancy Sylvain Labs, and Frank Cooper, advertising and marketing director of the funding firm BlackRock, introduced their views on the dimensions of the issue and its options.
"Giant firms have weapons targets," Sylvain stated. "They’ve exploited it from a advertising and marketing perspective to attempt to faucet into individuals's weak spots." His argument: the objective ought to be on the coronary heart of the corporate's existence, not simply as an envelope of relationships public.
Whereas Google's motto "Do nothing incorrect" instantly involves thoughts, the issue goes past expertise. Sylvain cited Gillette's "Better of One Man" advert marketing campaign for example of Buddhism gone incorrect. Whereas the marketing campaign inspired males to shoulder their obligations within the wake of the #metoo motion, Sylvain says it doesn’t replicate the corporate extra deeply.
"It was solely a marketing campaign," he stated. "They didn’t actually embrace this philosophy as a corporation."
This contrasts with Nike's promoting marketing campaign, Colin Kaepernick, which he says takes a stand. "By lining up on a celeb that appeals solely half of the inhabitants, Nike has made a political dedication," he stated.
What’s the distinction? "Conduct: It's the distinction between exploiting a objective and committing to doing it – it goes past advertising and marketing for one thing extra operational."
BlackRock's Cooper agrees. "It is advisable to be extra involved about conduct than phrases. How do you get within the blood of an organization? "
In line with Sylvain, start-ups could be significantly susceptible to posture. "The CEO of the startup is determined and is simply in search of a shortcut to get out of the door. They see the necessity for goal to easily appeal to consideration extra rapidly. "
Cooper agrees. "For the second, there isn’t any actual strain. The truth is, many startups will state a objective, don’t stay it, and there’s no actual penalty. There’s a society that can stay nameless, which has carried out it for years, years, years. They’d set a objective, be caught raping it, apologize and begin violating it once more, with little or no penalty. "
However he doesn’t need firms to hesitate to do greater than earn a living. "All the nice issues in life could be misused and abused. Medicines could be misused and abused. Meals and drinks could be misused and abused. "
How can we resolve this downside? "These are the tip prospects and the strain on firms to make the correct decisions," stated Sylvain. "As customers, our foremost political motto might be the way in which we purchase and purchase issues."
Cooper sees him coming from the within. "I believe workers have much more energy than they assume," he stated. Sylvain nodded, citing Theranos for example of an organization that was revealed from the within as its workers revealed its lies.
Nonetheless, regardless that customers and workers impose greater requirements on companies, they nonetheless must reply to greater energy: traders. "Traders want to alter their minds first," conceded Cooper. "So long as traders determine that they need a short-term revenue, everybody will dance to that melody."
"You cannot break it if the entire system is designed for the brief time period."


text:
It’s an age-old tradition for those of the Greek Orthodox faith, so on Friday morning, the owner of Felony Franks restaurant brought in a Greek Orthodox priest to bless his new business, which makes hiring felons part of its business model and marketing strategy.
Deno Andrews said Rev. Athanasios Papagiannis was invited to his hot dog stand at 6427 W. North Ave.
“They come in and bless the area and sprinkle holy water, burn incense and say some prayers,” Andrews said, noting that the holy water must then go into the ground, so they were used to water some plants in the back of the storefront.
The business has been open for about three months now, and Andrews said Felony Franks already has a five-star review on the crowd-sourced review website Yelp.
“The proof is in the pudding,” Andrews said of the restaurant’s success.


text:
- Increase in prices of commodities under education services, furnishings, household equipment, restaurant and accommodation services.
- Prices of Liquid Energy fuels increased to 25.2 percent in February up from 22.6 percent.
- The highest inflation was recorded in Gulu.
Uganda’s Inflation rate for the month of February has been recorded at 3.2 percent from 2.7% registered in January.
This is on account of increase in prices of commodities under education services, furnishings, household equipment, restaurant and accommodation services, clothing and footwear, and transport.
While announcing the consumer price indices and inflation report, the principal statistician at the Uganda Bureau of Statistics Edgar Niyimpa, revealed that there were reductions in prices of commodities under food and non-alcoholic beverages, health, Information Communication Technology , Tobacco and narcotics.
The core inflation for the 12 months to February 2022 increased to 3.1 in February 2022, up from 2.3 percent registered in January 2022, according to the Uganda Bureau of Statistics.
The increase is attributed to annual Other Goods Inflation that increased to 5.1 for the 12 months to February 2022 up from 4.3 in January 2022.
The annual Energy Fuel and Utilities Inflation (EFU) increased to 7 percent, up from 6.5 percent in January 2022.
The increase in EFU Inflation, according to the UBOS, was due to annual Liquid Energy fuels that increased to 25.2 percent in February 2022 up from 22.6 percent in January. Specifically, annual petrol inflation increased to 34 percent in February 2022 up from 30.5 percent registered in January 2022.
The Monthly Headline Inflation for February increased by 1% compared to the 0.3% drop in Jan 2022. This was due to the monthly Education Services inflation that rose by 8.4% Furnishings, Household Equipment by 3.7%.
However, Information and Communication monthly inflation decreased by 0.7% in February compared to 0.1% in January, while ‘Transport’ monthly Inflation registered 0.0 percent in the month of February compared to the 5.3 percent drop recorded in January 2022.
Regionally, the highest inflation was recorded in Gulu at 4.4% as compared to 4.5% recorded in January. The least inflation however was recorded in Jinja at 1.6% in Feb 2022.


text:
By Mike Coyne, Federal Equipment Company
No one can deny that the cannabis industry is one to watch. With an estimated sales potential expected to increase from $17.1 billion in North America to $47.3 billion by 2024, the cannabis industry is poised to boom. The District of Columbia and 11 states have legalized recreational use of marijuana: Alaska, California, Colorado, Illinois, Maine, Massachusetts, Michigan, Nevada, Oregon, Vermont and Washington. 33 other states have legalized medical marijuana use. Canada has legalized marijuana use across the entire country. Cannabidiol, the non-intoxicating cannabinoid found in cannabis also referred to as “CBD”, is garnering significant research and development efforts for many different alternative health uses and products. Marijuana-based pharmaceuticals are starting to be approved by the FDA. As more states legalize use, more uses for marijuana and CBD are developed, and even FDA approvals increase, the competition for manufacturing resources may be fierce.
Anyone looking to compete in the marijuana and CBD manufacturing business will need to secure process and packaging equipment necessary to produce these products on a commercial scale and with the expected quality. Main categories for cannabis manufacturing equipment include:
- CBD and Hemp Evaporators
- CBD and Hemp Centrifuges
- Cannabis and Hemp Capsule Fillers
- Cannabis/Hemp Milling
- Cannabis and Hemp Extraction Equipment
Read how used process and packaging equipment for the marijuana and CBD industry can fill an immediate and growing need for manufacturing equipment.


text:
The automobile world has undergone a lot of changes over the year but car mirrors haven’t changed much since, well, forever, and over the years, cars have only gone from zero to at least three mirrors in less than 100 years.
But, technology is ready to change those tried-and-true, rear-looking mirrors and is coming up with some exciting stuff.
Gentex which is an automotive supply company and Aston Martin are partnering to develop a new camera monitoring system for the future Aston models which will combine traditional mirrors with a robust and flexible camera system.
The two have collaborated on the design with Aston for providing styling and engineering direction.
Gentex has performed the task of integrating the cameras, software, and mirror-integrated display. Gentex has also partnered with Lumatech to engineer the exterior mirrors.
Though a full-camera setup is possible Aston is opting for a hybrid system through which drivers could use their vehicle’s traditional mirrors.
This also gives drivers the option to customize the viewing experience according to their preference, using cameras or mirrors.
The key to Gentex’s camera system is the Full Display Mirror, which can function as a standard auto-dimming rearview mirror or an LCD according to our needs.
The system allows the system to meet the field of view regulations set by different government agencies throughout the world because of the use of flat or curved glass, depending on the location.
The cameras move when the view of the traditional mirror is readjusted.
The new camera technology by Aston and Gentex will showcase in the Aston Martin DBS Superleggera at CES in Las Vegas, which will start next week on January 7.
However, it is not the only place to see the technology. Gentex began shipping its Full Display Mirror for Aston which was used in the DBS GT Zagato the automaker which was revealed earlier this year.
It will be a long time, if ever until the time comes when cameras replace traditional mirrors on vehicles.
Hybrid systems that leave the conventional mirror as a fail-safe will be the norm until the new technology becomes reliable and safe enough for automakers and consumers to ditch traditional mirrors.
It is possible that by then autonomous cars will rule the road, and mirrors will become irrelevant.


text:
Edmunds.com Spots Used Car Bargains During Wave of Record-High Prices
SANTA MONICA, Calif. — May 27, 2015 — Prices are down for some of the most popular segments of used cars, even as overall used car prices climbed to an all-time high in the first quarter of 2015, reports car-buying platform Edmunds.com.
According to Edmunds' Q1 2015 Used Vehicle Market Report, used car shoppers in the market for "near-new" (five years old and younger) subcompact and compact cars are paying 2.8 percent and 2.0 percent less, respectively, than they did just a year ago. Shoppers are also seeing lower prices for near-new used midsize cars (-1.6 percent), minivans (-2.0 percent), and entry sport cars (-2.1 percent). The price decreases in these segments stand in stark contrast to overall used car pricing trends. In the first quarter of 2015, Edmunds.com analysts noted a 7.1 percent year-over-year increase to an all-time high of $18,088 per vehicle.
"The recent surge in leases for small and midsize cars has spurred an avalanche of post-lease vehicles returning to the used car market, and with larger supply comes lower prices," says Edmunds.com Director of Industry Analysis Jessica Caldwell. "There's no sign that this surge in leasing will slow down any time soon, so shoppers can continue to expect prices of these cars to stay relatively low as they continue to flood the secondhand market in the coming months and years."
For some small used car models, the year-over-year price drops are more extreme. A near-new Fiat 500, for example, cost 12.5 percent less on average in Q1 2015 than it did during Q1 2014. Edmunds analysts found similar price drops for a near-new Toyota Prius c (-10.1 percent), Hyundai Veloster (-8.4 percent) and Volkswagen Jetta (-7.9 percent).
The market has been less kind to used truck and SUV buyers. The average price of used trucks was up 10 percent year over year in the first quarter, and the average price for used large SUVs was up 8.7 percent. Edmunds analysts say that prices are elevated for these vehicles because affordable prices at the pump created a spike in demand for larger gas-guzzlers, both new and used.
Edmunds' Q1 2015 Used Vehicle Market Report offers a wealth of unique insights into the used car market for both buyers and sellers. The report is available for free at http://www.edmunds.com/industry-center/data/used-car-market-quarterly-report.html.
Car-shopping website Edmunds.com serves nearly 18 million visitors each month. With Edmunds.com Price Promise®, shoppers can get an instant, upfront price for cars and trucks currently for sale at 10,000 dealer franchises across the U.S. Shoppers can browse not only dealer inventory, but also vehicle reviews, shopping tips, photos, videos and feature stories on both Edmunds' wired site and on its acclaimed mobile apps. Regarded as one of the best places to work in Southern California, Edmunds.com was also named one of "The World's Top 10 Most Innovative Companies of 2015 in Automotive" by Fast Company. Edmunds welcomes all car-shopping questions at our Help Center and on Twitter and Facebook. The company is based in Santa Monica, Calif. and has a satellite office in downtown Detroit, Mich., but you can find Edmunds from anywhere on YouTube, Pinterest, LinkedIn, Instagram, Google+ and Flipboard.


text:
In a surprise announcement, right inline with their fiscal call, Ubisoft has revealed a number of games scheduled to hit before the next financial year. While some of them are pretty much what we expected, one game stood out that took us by surprise: a sequel to The Crew.
This is only surprising considering how much of a tepid response the first game received. It was an open world racer with a lot of potential that didn’t quite live up to expectations, but if Ubisoft is able to improve upon the formula, it’s a very welcome announcement.
While no information has been given outside of a logo, expect more details to come very soon.


text:
Can home cooking reverse the obesity epidemic?
Many nutrition experts blame processed foods for the obesity epidemic, suggesting that a return to home cooking would turn it around. But now some researchers are arguing that it oversimplifies the obstacles poor and middle-class families face.
The case against processed foods has been growing. A flurry of recent studies provided new evidence that these foods, which are typically loaded with salt, sugar, fat and chemical additives, heighten the risk of obesity and chronic disease.
Scientists at the US National Institutes of Health found that people ate more calories and quickly gained weight on a diet of ultra-processed foods such as diet beverages, fruit juices, pastries, baked potato chips, canned foods and processed meats. Studies in the journal, BMJ, showed that people who ate significant amounts of these foods had increased mortality rates and cardiovascular disease. These findings prompted health experts to urge people to limit their intake of ultra-processed foods.
But that might be easier said than done. Highly processed foods have become the dominant food source, accounting for almost 60 per cent of calories. Americans across the socioeconomic spectrum consume them in increasing amounts. But studies show their intake is highest among low-income families. Many households depend on them because they are cheap, convenient and, in some cases, the only option.
This link between poverty and processed foods is illustrated in a new book written by three sociologists who study food, families and inequality. The authors — Sarah Bowen, Joslyn Brenton and Sinikka Elliott — studied 168 poor and middle-class families in North Carolina, a state where 1 in 3 adults is obese and 1 in 10 has diabetes. The researchers followed the families for up to five years and profiled them in depth, spending hundreds of hours visiting them in their homes and observing them as they shopped and prepared meals.
Their research challenges the notion, repeated by many nutrition experts, that Americans can reverse the obesity epidemic if they ditch processed foods, get back into the kitchen and make healthy meals from scratch. While that will work for some people, Bowen and her colleagues argue that it is not a realistic solution for families that have limited time and money.
National surveys show that 48 per cent of Americans cook dinner six or seven nights a week, and another 44 per cent cook two to five nights a week. The data show that low-income families spend more time cooking than wealthier families, and they consume less fast food than middle-class households. But the researchers found that many families faced an array of obstacles to healthy eating. Some lived far from a decent grocery store, and had to spend hours riding a bus to buy groceries or ask friends and relatives for a ride. Many would run out of money at the end of the month and look for ways to stretch what little food they had. Some did not have reliable stoves and refrigerators, or lacked pots and pans and other basic kitchen tools. Others turned to their local food pantries, which provide a lot of processed foods that are shelf-stable such as breakfast cereals, pasta, crackers, packaged snacks and canned meats and soups.
With so many hurdles in their way, the researchers found, working class families would often shy away from foods that cost more, spoil quickly or require a lot of preparation, and instead turn to things that they could cook easily, store for a long time and stretch into numerous meals.
“If you’re strapped for cash and running out of food every month like a lot of families did in our study, the cheapest thing you can buy is ramen, hot dogs, and boxed macaroni and cheese,” said Bowen, an associate professor of sociology at North Carolina State University, US. “We asked everyone in our study what would you buy if you had more money to spend on food, and the most common answer was: ‘Fresh fruit for our kids.’”
According to federal data, about 15 million US households suffer from food insecurity, meaning they do not have enough food to meet their needs. One family profiled in the book — a mother, her two young children and their grandmother — moved into a dilapidated hotel room after they were evicted from their home. The grandmother spends her days watching the children while their mother goes out looking for work. The family gets by with help from food stamps, Medicaid and vouchers that they receive through the Women, Infants and Children program, or WIC. They have no dinner table or even a kitchen. Instead they gather on a bed and eat meals that can be prepared in a microwave, like frozen pizzas.
There are no easy answers. But the researchers say what is needed are policies that better support families, like universal child care, paid parental leave, a higher minimum wage and sick leave. Employers can help by changing the culture of work so that parents can leave in time to pick their kids up from school, spend time with them at home, and still have time to prepare healthy dinners.
Another solution they propose: lawmakers can fund universal free lunch programmes in schools, which is where many children get many of their daily meals. Making school meals free and nutritious would go a long way to help families.
“The bottom line of what we found is that families are stretched thin and they’re up against a lot,” Elliott said. “Our big message is that if we really value healthy families, then we need to figure out ways to support them.”


text:
The Best Way to Beat Belly Flab
Bad Habits That Make Your Belly Bigger
Now that you've got a clear picture of the enemy within, it's time to fight back -- and win. That means getting rid of as much abdominal fat as possible, no matter which type it is. "Subcutaneous or visceral, all fat in the abdomen can have negative effects on your health," says Dr. Hensrud. "It's important to target both."
The lifestyle choices you make every day directly influence the size of your tummy -- and we're not just talking about food. So...Stop being quite so happy at happy hour.
If you drink in moderation -- no more than one cocktail a day -- the calories from the alcohol will likely burn off. But when you overdo it, they end up turning into fat in your abdomen. Experts say this is because alcohol inhibits fat-burning in the stomach, although no one fully understands how or why. As a result, calories from alcohol are more likely to become part of your visceral fat layer, making the possibility of developing a beer (or margarita or wine) gut all too real.Stop lighting up.
Like alcohol, nicotine prevents fat-burning in the abdomen. So smokers are likely to have a greater amount of visceral fat than nonsmokers do, even if they're not overweight, says Dr. Hensrud. "Studies have found that smokers tend to have a lower body-mass index than nonsmokers do, but the dangerous abdominal fat they often carry cancels out any positive effects."Stop eating trans fats.
According to a new study, these artery-clogging fats are more likely to go straight to your belly than other types. Wake Forest University researchers fed monkeys the same amount of calories, but one group got some of its fat from trans fats and the other got all of its fat from heart-healthy monounsaturated fats. The monkeys on the trans-fats diet gained nearly four times as much weight and had 30 percent more fat in their abdomens than the primates who ate the healthy fat. "One theory is that the body doesn't know what to do with this man-made fat, and the abdomen is a quick place to store it," says lead researcher Kavanagh. "Another idea is that trans fats interfere with insulin and its job to distribute fat throughout the body." The American Heart Association recommends eating as little trans fats as possible -- less than two grams a day. Easy ways to do that:
Read the ingredients list on snack foods labeled "0 grams trans fats." One serving of these products may contain 0.49 grams of this unhealthy fat. "The higher that partially hydrogenated oils are on the ingredients list, the more likely it is that a product has close to 0.5 gram of trans fats a serving," says Lona Sandon, RD, an American Dietetic Association spokesperson in Dallas. So dole out just one portion of crackers or cookies and then put the box away.
Make your own muffins -- or cake or cookies. The baked goods sold at convenience stores and coffee-and-doughnut shops are likely full of trans fats, says Ellie Krieger, RD, host of Healthy Appetite on the Food Network. When you bake your own, using healthy ingredients such as canola oil and fresh fruit, you eliminate these fats.
Hold the fried foods. "It's not necessarily the oil that's unhealthy, but that the frying process changes the chemical structure of it, leading to an excess of trans fats," explains Sandon. Unless a restaurant boasts that it's serving trans-fat-free foods -- as do Wendy's, KFC, and Arby's -- you can assume you're getting a substantial side of it with those onion rings.
What do you think of this story? Leave a Comment.


text:
Who Killed Sara? stays a thriller.
However Netflix’s smash-hit Mexican thriller has revealed Latin America as the newest entrance within the international streaming struggle being fought between the world’s greatest media teams.
For giants Disney, Amazon Prime and Netflix, international locations comparable to Mexico with its 126m inhabitants — along with the 60m Hispanics within the US, and 600m Latino market worldwide — signify a juicy development alternative.
Certainly, Who Killed Sara? was Netflix’s most popular non-English language show in the US for the primary month after it launched in March and one of many streamer’s greatest hits general, proving to Latin producers that there’s a large worldwide marketplace for Spanish-language content material.
Additionally it is a tempting goal for conventional broadcasters making a painful shift to the digital age.
In mid-April — simply earlier than Netflix unveiled disappointing quarterly subscription figures in Latin America, a area that has lengthy been an engine of development — Mexico’s high broadcaster Televisa and New York-based Univision unveiled a $4.8bn content merger.
Bolstered by $1bn in funding from Japan’s SoftBank, they purpose to launch a streaming service subsequent 12 months focusing on the worldwide Spanish-language market.
The still-to-be-named enterprise will face stiff competitors: Netflix entered Latin America a decade in the past, whereas the previous two years have seen the arrival of Amazon Prime’s video on-demand service and Disney Plus. WarnerMedia is launching its HBO Max platform within the area this month.
However Emilio Azcárraga, govt chair of Televisa, is assured they will pull it off. “Both Univision or Televisa alone would discover it not possible to have the dimensions to generate the money to have the ability to be related in content material manufacturing and distribution,” he stated. “Collectively, we’ve got the attain, the dimensions and we’ve got the cash.”
He factors to the group’s expertise in partnering with satellite tv for pc TV service Sky within the Nineteen Nineties, aiming to tackle far bigger rival DirecTV. “Many individuals stated we have been completely loopy — how have been we going to have the ability to compete?” he instructed the Monetary Instances. “[But now] within the area wherein we function, DirecTV not exists.”
Nonetheless, it’s a tall order for Televisa that has a library of a whole bunch of 1000’s of hours of melodramatic soaps often called telenovelas, movies and sports activities, however little expertise in producing edgier exhibits or in tailoring content material to what audiences wish to watch in the best way the streamers do.
Even Disney Plus is just not anticipated to be worthwhile till 2023 whereas Netflix solely stated in January that it anticipated its cash flow to break even this 12 months, after years of investing closely in content material.
Few native streaming providers have succeeded in holding their very own towards the massive international gamers. Nent, a Stockholm-based group, has managed to take action partly by growing manufacturing of original Nordic drama.
However encouragingly for the brand new enterprise, Spanish-language and notably Mexican-made content material is booming within the necessary US market, in line with knowledge supplier Parrot Analytics.
The Televisa-Univision enterprise will use Televisa’s manufacturing capabilities and search to leverage its huge again catalogue. However Televisa spends simply $1bn a 12 months on content material in contrast with Netflix’s $17bn and Azcárraga didn’t say how a lot it could spend money on content material in future.
“The fact is that Televisa can’t compete with Netflix productions,” stated analyst Gilberto García at Barclays.
As well as, at the very least a few of what Televisa-Univision is at present producing seems to be content material viewers don’t need. “Since 2015, Univision audiences have fallen greater than 50 per cent,” García stated.
Alejandro Rojas, director at utilized analytics at Parrot Analytics, stated it could be important for Televisa to make a psychological shift from simply producing giant quantities of content material to really analysing what shoppers desired. “It’s a very completely different mindset to TV,” he stated.
Azcárraga acknowledged that individuals needed extra than simply telenovelas. “Romance at all times sells [but] there are issues we’ve got to do in another way . . . we aren’t closed to something.”
He sees Televisa-Univision as a horny store window for impartial producers seeking to produce content material for the Latin market and highlighted Televisa’s success with movies, however didn’t specify the place he needed to focus because the enterprise goes head-to-head with film-laden rivals comparable to Disney.
“It’s like an arms race,” stated Rojas. “Everyone wants to provide extra.” Certainly, Netflix is planning a brand new workplace in Colombia later this 12 months and movie 30 new sequence, movies, documentaries and different programmes over 2021-22. It’s betting on new Latin productions comparable to actuality relationship present Too Scorching to Deal with and teenage drama Management Z to reignite regional development, in line with Ampere Evaluation.
However even the streaming large is faltering in Latin America in a enterprise the place scale is all the pieces.
Netflix subscriptions within the area rose less than 1 per cent within the first quarter in contrast with the top of final 12 months. Whole subscribers in Latin America rose 19 per cent final 12 months, following annual rises of 20 per cent in 2019 and 32 per cent in 2018.
“What the pandemic has proven is that individuals carry ahead their paid membership — individuals who might need subscribed in 2021 subscribed early, so we’re seeing a slowdown now in relation to a rise in development in 2020,” stated Rahul Patel at Ampere Evaluation.
Azcárraga stated a choice had additionally but to be made about whether or not to make the brand new service subscription-based or promoting supported.
Televisa’s first-quarter advert gross sales rose 28 per cent versus the identical interval final 12 months whereas content material revenues rose 10 per cent and 200,000 subscribers have been added. Univision’s personal pay-TV enterprise, PrendeTV, launched in March with some 900,000 subscribers in its first month and core promoting revenues rose 7 per cent within the first quarter.
Marcelo Claure, chief govt of SoftBank’s worldwide arm, instructed analysts the mixed entity “has the potential to be rewarded in the identical approach because the market rewarded Disney Plus, which is now buying and selling at 35 occasions ebitda”.
Televisa’s revenues have been largely flat for 4 years however internet revenue has plunged. Analysts estimate it trades at present at some 6-7 occasions ebitda.
“Viewing figures [at Televisa] are positively higher and content material has been getting slicker,” stated Soomit Datta, analyst at New Avenue Analysis. “However they may dwell or die on the standard of their content material.”


text:
The Forerunners are the ancient, highly advanced species that created the Halos. For the first time, players are about to come face-to-face with them, in Halo 4.
The Games Developers Conference is getting started today in San Francisco, so we’re in store for a big marketing blitz of new game announcements and insider looks at upcoming titles. Microsoft released a new “first look” video today for Halo 4, which shows off the game in action for the first time ever.
The original Halo was a transformative moment in console gaming. It’s singlehandedly responsible for launching the Xbox as a platform, as well as proving the viability of Xbox Live. Bungie’s magnum opus has gotten a major facelift just in time for its tenth anniversary, and it’s still just as fun as you remember.
Despite the high-res textures, character models with way more polygons, and all kinds of other upgraded technology on display in this trailer, there’s still something decidedly retro about the look and feel of Halo: Anniversary.
Microsoft’s 343 Industries — its new division devoted to making new Halo games — has spilled some early details about Halo 4… and beyond.


text:
Nokia's (NOK1V.HE) Chief Executive Stephen Elop took a 45 percent cut in his pay package last year, according to a U.S. regulatory filing, as the company continued losing market share to Samsung (005930.KS) and Apple (AAPL.O) in smartphones.
Elop, hired in 2010 from Microsoft (MSFT.O) to turn the Finnish mobile phone maker around, earned 4.33 million euros ($5.63 million) in 2012, down from 7.94 million euros a year earlier.
While his base salary rose by 59,500 euros to 1.08 million euros his stock and option awards fell slightly and he earned no bonus, according to the filing with the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) on Thursday.
Nokia's shares fell 22 percent last year. The company reported an underlying profit in the fourth quarter thanks to cost cuts but it axed its annual dividend payment for the first time to shore up its cash position.
The SEC filing also included a customary list of risk factors, many of them focused on whether Elop's controversial decision in 2011 to adopt Microsoft's untested Windows Phone software would pay off.
Nokia said on Thursday that it will receive more payments from Microsoft than it pays to the software giant this year, but will be a net payer in royalties from the following year.
It said its payments to Microsoft will exceed what it receives from the U.S. company by around 0.5 billion euros ($650.00 million) over the remainder of their pact.
The two companies have not disclosed how long their deal will last.


text:
Marquette’s family owned Frei Chevrolet is closing in near future
MARQUETTE — A dealership in Marquette will now be closing their doors in the very near future. After nearly 100 years of quality service the family-owned business in the Marquette community has been affected by other automotive groups that have been popping up in the area over the years.
The owners of Frei Chevrolet are announcing that they are selling the land and building and beginning the process of closing the dealership.
Until the doors are closed for good the dealership will continue to provide our customers with quality Chevrolet products and authorized parts and service.


text:
“There is more innovation now in the world of television than ever before in history.”
With this statement, Roku CEO Anthony Wood began his keynote speech at the TV of Tomorrow Show in San Francisco last week with a recap of the current trends that point to a future where all TV will be streamed. While TV has evolved dramatically over the past 70 years — from the introduction of over-the-air broadcast networks in the 1940s to cable TV and the DVR — the advent of consumer streaming services and platforms,
pioneered by Netflix and Roku in 2008, is driving more change in the way we watch TV than ever before.
Anthony predicts that the future of TV will be streamed. The Internet has created new
and very successful brands like Hulu, Netflix and YouTube. Traditional content providers are beginning to authenticate their content, sending it over the Internet to the TV as well as mobile devices — just look at HBO and EPIX. And in the not too distant future consumers will be able to subscribe to Internet-delivered TV packages featuring favorite top TV networks. Within the next four years, the majority of paid TV programming will be streamed.
A few other key points shared by Anthony in his keynote:
- A Roku streaming player averages about 12 hours of streaming per week, compared to about 35 hours of TV viewing per person per week
- The DVR is dying and will fade away within the next several years; why record when you can stream virtually anything?
- Music and games have claimed a substantial place on the television
- New brands with great content, like Revision3 and Wall Street Journal Live, can be wildly successful with Internet-only distribution
This is a very exciting time for TV and for Roku. Stay tuned!


text:
An affiliate of Japanese fuel-products wholesaler Mitsuuroko Group Holdings Co. Ltd. has signed an agreement to acquire General Storage Co. Pte. Ltd., the Singapore-based company that operates the Lock+Store self-storage brand. Singapore-based subsidiary Triforce Investments Pte. Ltd. is expected to close on the S$85.1 million transaction this month, according to the source.
General Storage operates 18 self-storage facilities in Hong Kong, Malaysia and Singapore. It also provides warehousing, offices and postal services. The acquisition marks Mitsuuroko’s entry into the self-storage sector, the source reported.
“The advent of smaller homes and changing lifestyles have created a strong demand from personal users [in Asia],” Mitsuuroko officials said in a released statement.
Mitsuuroko launched Triforce in October 2020 to invest in new technologies and support service-based businesses, according to the source.
Based in Tokyo, Mitsuuroko primarily sells petroleum products, though it has diversified operations through four business segments: energy, electric power, food and provisions, and particulate matter/health and sports. The latter leases real estate and manages health- and sports-related facilities. Mitsuuroko also has a leasing business and insurance agency, among other services.
Kyodo, Japan's Mitsuuroko to Buy Self-Storage Operator in Singapore


text:
From Raf Simons’ debut as the new king of Calvin Klein to Thom Browne (named the best show of the season by The New York Times) to newcomer Lindsay Jones for Músed, designers used their collections to voice political and cultural unrest, as people worry for the rights of women, immigrants, gay and transgender people, and anyone disenfranchised under an oppressive Trump regime. The artistry of NYFW shows maintain the fact that at this level, fashion is wearable, personal art. With that in mind, designers of NYFW used art to send a message. As Jones of Músed says, art is vital; “it’s one of the best ways to communicate.” What exactly did designers of NYFW have to say? The following trend takeaways reveal the most urgent messages from NYFW.
Still an American: Color blocking at Calvin Klein
Named the new head at the house known for minimalism, Calvin Klein, Raf Simons opened his show with a bold color blocked look. Note the colors here are red, white, and blue. The message: this is still our country, so let’s make America a place to be proud in. As President Obama reminded us in his final address to the nation, it’s time for people to participate in culture.
Women are the new men: Women in menswear at Thom Browne
Dressing men in women’s clothing has been de rigeur for a couple seasons, as the fashion world is one industry that acknowledges gender fluidity. But at Thom Browne, all looks featured women dressed in menswear: there wasn’t one dress to be seen on the runway. The message: women can do what men do (and conversely men can do what women do). This, to me, is the definition of feminism.
Don’t lose sight of hope: Subtle embroidery at The Row
Simplicity is a new trend takeaway from Mary-Kate and Ashley Olsen’s label The Row, known more for chic bohemian overdressing. However, this season, the crisp white shirt with subtle embroidery of hope marks a departure worth noting. The message: don’t erase the eight years of progress, run on the promise of hope from President Obama’s campaign to his initiatives, no matter how hard the current administration tries to eradicate rights such as legal gay marriage, universal healthcare, and general inclusiveness.
Fight for the right to be human: Slogan T-shirts at Prabal Gurung
Slogan t-shirts aren’t going anywhere, as high fashion has co-opted this streetwear trend, and incorporated it into their lines, like at Prabai Gurung. With slogans like “Love is Love,” “We’re Still Here,” and “I am an Immigrant,” there’s no dancing around the message. The message: be loud and proud and wear your identity.
Inclusivity is everything: Model diversity at Christian Siriano
Christian Siriano has been a champion of plus-size models for a couple of seasons now, and this year was no exception. One-third of the models on his catwalk were women of color, plus-sized or both, according to USA Today. The message: beauty is inclusive, an important thing to remember when your president makes fun of disabled and obese people and thinks it’s acceptable to voice these opinions in public. Here’s a reminder that it is not OK to have these opinions. It’s despicable.
And with that, NYFW comes to a close, sending messages for the world to reflect upon.


text:
U.S. shipments of mixed plastic, a category that includes plastics recovered from electronic devices, jumped in the first quarter. Nearly two-thirds of the plastic went to Canada.
National legislators have reintroduced a bill that would restrict the export of certain end-of-life devices. A coalition of electronics recycling stakeholders voiced support for the proposal.
Federal legislators have reintroduced legislation banning exports of untested, non-working electronics, a move that could significantly alter the way that many e-scrap companies handle material.
During a recent panel discussion, an e-scrap researcher and a journalist described the consequences of exporting electronics to developing nations. They also discussed how much of that material is reusable and how much is truly waste.
The U.S. government has made public an agreement with Canada to continue shipments of scrap plastic, including e-plastics, despite global regulations tightening next year. Environmental advocates are troubled by the deal.
The Basel Action Network this week announced changes in an overseas e-scrap import policy, and the group said an OEM broke its own policies by shipping several low-value devices to Guatemala.


text:
- Mitsubishi has shared official images of the 2023 Outlander plug-in hybrid.
- The hybrid version will join the standard model in the U.S. in the second half of 2022.
- We know it will offer all-wheel drive and a third row seat, but more details will be released October 28.
The Mitsubishi Outlander looks quite different from the Nissan Rogue it’s based on, and the Mitsu will also differentiate itself from the Nissan by offering a plug-in-hybrid variant. Ahead of its arrival in the U.S. in the second half of next year, we can now see the 2023 Outlander PHEV inside and out thanks to these photos Mitsubishi has released ahead of the full debut October 28.
The main styling cues unique to the hybrid are badges on the front fenders and a charging port on the rear fender. It’s identical inside, even including the third-row seat that was absent in the previous-generation Outlander PHEV. It’ll be available in ten colors including red, white, and black.
Full details on the Outlander’s powertrain will come in a few weeks, but we know that it will offer an all-wheel-drive system with two electric motors: one in the front and one in the rear. It should also offer more electric driving range than the outgoing model, which is EPA-rated to go 24 miles on a full charge.
While it was the only plug-in-hybrid available in the U.S. for some time, the Outlander plug-in hybrid will face more competition this time around. Toyota now sells a RAV4 Prime and Ford offers a PHEV version of the Escape.


text:
Can Chinese smartphone giant Xiaomi survive a trade war?
Once the world's most valuable startup, Chinese tech company Xiaomi has become the top smartphone maker in emerging markets like India. How will Trump's trade war with China affect its global ambitions?
What happens when brands try to go green
Families went so nuts for a Build-A-Bear sale that stores had to shut down
Papa John's is losing the pizza wars. Big Time.
Source: Russian intel could access user data
El-Erian on trade war: US will be less damaged than others
Market volatility bodes well for bank earnings
An outrageous card offering 0% interest until August 2019
7 outrageous credit cards if you have excellent credit
Cards charging 0% interest until 2020
Pay off credit card balances faster using this method
'Helsinki has frozen over': Late night blasts Trump-Putin summit
Papa John's founder John Schnatter kicked out of his office
Prime Day: Amazon website crashes shortly after deals go live


text:
Earlier this year, Phylos Bioscience announced its plan to launch an in-house breeding program. The news prompted outrage within the community, sparking conversations about intellectual property and genetics research across the cannabis industry.
Many cultivators felt betrayed by the idea that the Portland-based cannabis science company would use data they submitted to the Phylos Galaxy — a comprehensive database that documents the cannabis genome — to steal vital cultivar information and use it against them.
Phylos released a statement assuring growers not to worry, that their fears were unfounded. They insisted they weren’t going to use their submitted data to create super strains to put craft cannabis growers out of business. None of that data can be used for breeding, and the breeding work they do will be primarily for large-scale biomass producers. The varieties they do develop for the craft flower market will be released under open-source licenses and should help to keep craft growers in business.
Now, a couple of months have passed. For the most part, Phylos has kept out of the media spotlight. Cannabis Aficionado spoke to CEO Mowgli Holmes to learn more about their approach to large-scale agriculture, plant patents and IP rights, and the future of cannabis.
Growers submitted their genomic data to you with the understanding that it would not be used to enhance any breeding programs. How did you not foresee this backlash from the industry following the announcement of your breeding program?
We didn’t foresee this reaction because this data isn’t useful for plant breeding. It’s just genetic sequence data, with no information on the plants themselves. The purpose of the galaxy has always been to empower everyone to learn from their plant’s data by comparing it to everything else. We made the galaxy and the raw data publicly available so that everyone could have full access to it.
I don’t think this question has really been about the data. It’s about having a company in the cannabis industry that is working with people from big ag. The science we’re using comes from those companies, and we’re hiring scientists who understand it. We’re also a company that is focused on environmental and social impact, and on moving agriculture toward sustainable practices. Cannabis growers don’t trust big ag and they don’t see how we could be working with people from those companies and still have these progressive goals. But we do.
You claim that your new breeding program will focus on large-scale agriculture. Why then do you think there is such a negative response to your breeding announcement from cannabis growers and craft cultivators?
Phylos concentrates on the global market because that’s where the plant needs the most work. I think that a lot of small growers assume that large-scale ag means lousy cannabis, so they don’t respect it. But it matters how the large growers operate. Phylos believes large-scale cannabis and hemp agriculture can actually operate sustainably and we’re committed to doing our part to move it in that direction. We also want to see the craft flower market thrive. We won’t be doing a lot of work there, but when we do it’s going to have a positive impact. The flower plants we release will be good for growers, and breeders will get to keep working with them.
Your presentation to investors at Benzinga seemed to confirm that you will use the submitted data to breed new strains. Why did you tell that to investors if it isn’t your intention? Why do you think your words were misconstrued?
That is not what I said to investors. But when I said that our testing business was a valuable data collection tool, I meant it. Having a high-throughput molecular genetics lab allowed us to generate lots of valuable data, but all of that work has been independent of the customer data we collected. As I said, the data we collected from customers cannot be used for breeding, period.
The data collected from customers was very limited and was made public via the Phylos Galaxy in order to prevent patent infringement and support greater transparency within the cannabis industry’s supply chain. It’s a tool for the industry, including our competitors, to use in understanding varieties and the evolution of cannabis. It’s not a tool that can help with breeding except in a very general way by letting people see relationships — and it’s available to everyone to use in that way.
Have you kept any of the genetic data so you could replicate any of the submitted material via plant tissue propagation?
No, we wouldn’t do that and it’s not possible. You can’t create a living plant from data and you can’t create a living plant from a dead tissue sample. We are not using any of our customer’s plants in our breeding program. The Galaxy is evidence that our customer’s plants belong to them.
We do have a large collection of living cannabis varieties, which we’ve acquired through fair and generous contracts with breeders, and we’re continuing to in-license new varieties.
Was patenting genetics, or your plans to use the data to create your own breeding program, in any fine print that people may have missed?
We’ve never had any plans to use that data for breeding because we always knew it wouldn’t be robust enough to breed with. But we were very openly and publicly building a breeding program meant to support other people’s plant work with our scientific tools. We just weren’t originally intending to do the actual plant work ourselves.
The largest part of a modern plant breeding program is the data infrastructure and we were clear very early on that we were developing genetic markers for breeding. As we’ve said, the customer data had no information on the physical characteristics of the plants themselves and couldn’t be used for breeding. We believed that this simple scientific fact would keep people from making the mistake of thinking we were using it for breeding.
As far as patenting goes, our position has always been that plant patents are fine, as long as they’re responsibly narrow and don’t cover entire categories of plants. Overly broad patents are bad for innovation and bad for the cannabis industry.
The Open Cannabis Project (OCP) closed at the end of May in response to your announcement, citing “deception” as the one reason. What are your thoughts on this situation?
We helped start the OCP to create a transparent and open-source repository of cannabis data that could enlarge the public domain and help to preserve genetic diversity in cannabis. I resigned from the board in order to ensure there was no connection between OCP and Phylos, but the board was already planning to dissolve the organization in December 2018 based on difficulty fundraising.
The OCP knew we were doing breeding work, they knew the science we were using was from big ag and they knew we were going to be willing to apply for limited patents. The OCP themselves have always supported limited patents. They also know how strong my personal commitment is to doing things differently than they’re done in traditional agriculture.
Nothing illustrates the intense emotion around this issue better than this does. Despite knowing all of that, I think they were genuinely shocked to see that we’re working with and hiring people from big ag companies. Progressives see those companies as truly evil, and they don’t have a framework for understanding how good people could possibly be working with them.
Unfortunately, nobody on the OCP board contacted us before they issued their statement. The idea that you could have one foot in both worlds and still be committed to being an ethical company — that’s impossible for many people to accept. But that stance is a decision to leave all of this scientific power in the hands of people you don’t trust.
How can growers trust you when you say you are not using their genomics and data to advance your own breeding program?
Anyone who looks at the science comes to see that you can’t use this data for breeding new plants.
But we are seeing that trust doesn’t come from scientific facts alone. We’re a mission-driven company and eventually people will see the benefits of the work we’re doing. The dust will clear and we’ll be working away, and then people will see.
Why do you think people were so quick to jump to the conclusion that you are using your position and power to harm the very people that you have spent so many years trying to protect?
This is the part that’s hard for me. Phylos has always been clear in our mission to bring science to cannabis and new approaches to agriculture, to preserve genetic diversity, and to help small farmers. It’s pretty crazy to find out that people can overnight decide you don’t mean the things you say. But again, I think the assumption is that if we had good intentions we wouldn’t be hiring scientists and advisors from the major ag companies. We need these people because they understand the complexities of the large-scale agricultural system better than anyone and they are uniquely positioned to help us change it for the better. The team of scientists that have joined Phylos is building an agricultural model that is profitable and sustainable for farmers. We always meant it when we said we cared about the craft flower community. But we also care about agriculture as a whole.
What is your desired achievement with your breeding program?
I got a lot of shit for saying this, but I’m just going to say it again: Phylos is going to create outrageous new plants. They’re going to work better for farmers and for consumers and they’re going to be constantly evolving.
We also believe that it’s important for us and the industry to give both fair credit and fair compensation to the breeders who have created amazing plants already and those that continue to do so. We are already signing agreements to make sure those breeders get paid as they should, and we hope it becomes the standard way of acquiring plants in the industry.
Phylos has built its mission around preserving the genetic diversity we’ve inherited. At the same time, we’re going to drive forward into the future of what this plant can do, which really will be incredible. We need to do both of those things.
We’re combining advanced science with sustainability principles. We’re using traditional breeding driven by genomic knowledge. We’re studying methods that let farmers minimize inputs costs at the same time as they’re building healthier soil. We’re going to help farmers profit from sustainability — and we’re going to make sustainability work better because it’s driven by hard data.
Where does Phylos Bioscience go from here?
We have to accept that some people see big ag companies as the enemy and they don’t trust anyone who’s working with them. But we need to have companies who can use the science from big ag in ways that are driven by a sense of social responsibility. We need to have companies who can figure out how to support environmentally sustainable approaches as they use this science. We need to have companies that are a bridge between these two worlds.
Phylos has one foot in the cannabis world and one foot in the world of large-scale agriculture. The role of our company is to be a bridge between these two worlds that don’t trust each other. To make it work, we’re going to have to be really committed to maintaining our values and measuring our success based on them. We’re going to have to be a little bit like Switzerland and work with everyone. We have to accept that we’re not going to make everyone happy, but we’re going to make damn sure the farms that work with us are successful.
To us, that means that they’re sustainably successful in ways that work long-term for them, and their workers, and the environment. For most of these larger farms the first step is simple: start growing hemp.
Lady Jane Society Hosts First Women in Cannabis Central Valley Retreat
The Lady Jane Society, a Central California-based event company, hosted its inaugural event for women in the cannabis industry on October 4-5, 2019 at the scenic Bella Forrest venue in Hilmar, CA. Nestled in a private forest located just off the Merced River, the Women in Cannabis Central Valley retreat brought together female leaders, influencers and educators from throughout the nation to the scenic location — many of whom made the trek from Sacramento, the San Francisco Bay Area, Los Angeles, Chicago, Washington state and Florida,
The Lady Jane Society retreat spotlighted the regional Central Valley cannabis industry and featured sponsorships, speakers, and pop-up shops from local businesses such as Legacy Nursery, and Lyfted Farms — both based in Modesto, CA — Sisters of the Valley, Mission Nurseries/Don Primo, and Highway 33 Cannabis Club. Meals were prepared by local eateries Greens on Tenth and Traveling Pizza.
The event was held in the secluded, magical grove of fig trees, creating a natural, whimsical outdoor setting protected from the elements — lit by sun rays in the daylight and hanging lights in the evening. Dotted throughout the luscious landscape were lounging areas, and vendors offering infused goodies and decked out accessories.
Also on site was the multi-media social movement This is Jane Project, Peace of Mind 209, Wind Valley Apothecary, Custom Blingggs, Potency No. 710 skincare, and clothing and accessories from White Buffalo Spirit, Collective Hearts jewelry, among more pop-up shops.
Attendees were treated to a plethora of infused goodies, which included CBD sparkling waters from DayTrip, THC-infused coffee from SomaTik, pre-rolls from Sexxpot, and a dab bar courtesy of Eel River Organics.
Guests also sipped on mocktails and cocktails from Humboldt Apothecary and enjoyed activities such as Sparked — an interactive card game created to uplift and celebrate women — before ending the first evening with a collective ‘cheers’, made possible by Lyfted Farms pre-rolls.
The weekend’s agenda emphasized education, networking and the celebration of all who were in attendance.
MC’ed by Kay Ramirez, aka Mskindness B, the speaker series spotlighted community building and women in the supply chain.
The panel included Jennina Chiavetta of Legacy Nursery, who spoke about breeding, genetics and building a canna-company in her hometown of Modesto, Wendy Kornberg of Sunnabis Farms spoke on cultivation, Angela Kadara of MediZen discussed manufacturing, Margot Wampler of Fenix Distribution, Kimberly Cargile of A Therapeutic Alternative talked about retail, Jaqueline McGowan of the Facebook group California City and County Watch spoke about policy, Manndie Tingler of Khemia talked about community building and Scheril Murray Powell, Attorney, who made the journey to California from Florida to speak about civic engagement.
Kyra Reed, co-founder of LJS, said the event was an offline manifestation of what the group has been cultivating on the Women Empowered in Cannabis (WEiC) Facebook group: “encouragement, empowerment through honest dialogue and sharing of resources,” she adds, “all while in a gorgeous environment that made us all feel like we were in a bubble of support that our emcee, Mskindness B, wrapped us in from the moment our guests arrived.”
In addition to the inspirational and educational speaker series, attendees were also treated to some serious swag. Each ticket holder was sent home with a goodie bags with more than $200 in edible, smokable, wearable and topical cannabis products, including pre-rolls by Sexxpot and Lyfted Farms, snacks from MediZen and SolDaze, CBD oil and capsules from Manitoba Harvest, salves by Sisters of the Valley and more.
As relaxation was at the heart of the event, attendees received the full retreat experience.
The second and final day of the retreat opened with a Relaxation and Recharge session, complete with breakfast, guided meditation and CannaBliss Yoga with Michelle Patino, and sound healing with Eliza Moroney, the Cannabis Yogi.
During the afternoon, visitors were treated to massages, a taco bar, an afternoon of engaging speakers, and pop-up shops selling clothing, accessories and infused goods.
As the sun started to set on the final evening of the retreat, more women took the stage for The Lady Jane Society’s Award Ceremony. The society’s co-founder, Kyra Reed, presented scholarships to Oaksterdam, and Cloverleaf University.
The awards ceremony, sponsored by My Bud Vase, recognized leaders and allies. Awardees included Manndie Tingler of Khemia, educator Amanda Soens, and Ed Breslin and Brian Walker, founders of Making You Better Brands, which include Xternal topical relief sprays.
AnnaMaria Riedinger, founder of Hey Honey! Artisanal Lemonades, said she noticed the doors opening slowly for women in cannabis here in the Central Valley, “not only to connect but to own their truth as team players in the local industry and understanding their success depends on moving forward collectively.”
“As co-founder of the Lady Jane Society, I am so honored to be part of making the space and shift for women wanting solid and authentic lasting relationships,” she added. “I truly believe change begins at the local level, and witnessing the change all weekend was the most heartfelt experience!”
The most important thing women took from the Lady Jane Society event, explains Reed, is that women were given “permission and inspiration to ask for what they want! And the results were real empowerment.”
Many of the women in attendance had little to no cannabis community with other women. “That changed at the event, too,” added Reed. “That is what we wanted — to build community and truly empower women to thrive in their cannabis careers.”
Make sure you don’t miss next year’s Lady Jane Society retreat. Save the Date — the first weekend in October 2020.
Network in Paradise at the CanEx Jamaica Business Conference & Expo
According to a new report by Grand View Research, Inc, the global legal cannabis market is expected to reach USD 66.3 billion by the end of 2025. Helped in part by the increasing acceptance of cannabis to treat numerous medical conditions such as Parkinson’s disease, cancer, arthritis, and neurological disorders, along with the lucrative revenue created by legal cannabis sales, there has never been a more crucial time for entrepreneurs and businesses to network and expand their businesses on a global scale.
As one of the leaders in international business-to-business (B2B) events, the CanEx Jamaica Business Conference and Expo brings together top cannabis industry experts from around the globe including the U.S., Canada, Europe, Australia and the Caribbean.
Taking place September 26-28 at the Montego Bay Convention Center, in beautiful Montego Bay, the fourth annual CanEx Jamaica Business Conference & Expo features addresses, panel discussions and presentations on a variety of topics — from advocacy, cultivation, science and medicine to investment, banking and finance, and the business of cannabis including women entrepreneurship.
Over 70 world-class speakers and panelists will provide insights into the direction of the global cannabis industry to over 3,000 delegates.
Steve DeAngelo, founder of Harboride dispensary and the Last Prisoner Project, is speaking on two panels — “Post Decriminalization of Cannabis: Towards Restorative Justice” and “Strategic Approaches to Cannabis Investments” to how the investment landscape is evolving.
Bruce Linton, founder of Canopy Growth Corp, the first cannabis producing company in North America to be listed on a major stock exchange, will host a fireside chat with CanEx founder, Douglas K. Gordon.
Former President of Mexico, Vicente Fox, will host “The Global Cannabis Movement” that will explore what globalization means in practical terms for the industry, where things stand presently and the future of the global market.
Cam Battley, Chief Corporate Officer of Aurora Cannabis Inc., will be speaking on the panel “CEO Roundtable: Roadmap to Sustainable Profitability for the Industry” to discuss the global challenges and opportunities facing the cannabis Industry.
Plus, over 200 exhibitors and sponsors, from cultivators to investment firms and media experts will provide attendees opportunities for networking, business expansion and identify new areas of growth within the legal industry.
Held for the first time in 2016, CanEx Jamaica is responsible for connecting cannabis experts, researchers, business professionals, creating new strategic partnerships in a truly memorable and vibrant setting.
For more information, visit canexjamaica.com.
After 25 Years, Supreme Closes Iconic Lafayette Store
In a move that has shocked through the streetwear community, Supreme has closed its original space on Lafayette after 25 years of business.
Back in February, the brand announced that its famous Lafayette location would be under renovation. Now, due to the unforeseen closure, the 190 Bowery location in Manhattan will now be the brand’s main location in the Big Apple.
View this post on Instagram
Sports3 weeks ago
PGA Tour Golfer Matt Every Suspended Over Medical Cannabis Use
Cannabis5 days ago
Plant Growth Regulators: What They Are & Why You Should Avoid Them
Culture3 weeks ago
Lady Jane Society Hosts First Women in Cannabis Central Valley Retreat
Aficionados2 weeks ago
Seibo Shen: Changing the Conversation With Innovative Consumption
Fashion1 day ago
Sensimilla Streetwear for Mary Jane Lovers
Music5 days ago
Sharon Stone Sues Chanel West Coast Over “Sharon Stoned”


text:
Talking about the smartphone shipments in Q3 2021, Samsung managed to lead the smartphone shipments, retaining the 23 percent market share from July-September 2020. Samsung was followed by Apple, which managed to increase its market share from 12 percent in last year’s third quarter to 15 percent in Q3 2021. Xiaomi, which was at second position with 14 percent market share in Q3 2020, retained its market share in Q3 2021 but thanks to Apple’s share gain, slipped down to the third position. Vivo and OPPO (OnePlus shipments included) managed to come behind Xiaomi, both with 10 percent market share in Q3 2021 quarter, compared with 9 percent in Q3 2020.
It is hard to say how much the chip shortage will impact different smartphone manufacturers but as of now, it is clear that the industry as a whole has been impacted and it will need some time to recover before it can go full throttle again. Considering that OPPO shipments now include the share from OnePlus, we can expect OPPO to climb these charts soon as well.


text:
Gambling enterprises also enemies of debatable video of skill talk about the machinery are being played a number of Pennsylvania venues against Wolf government pandemic guidelines.
If much more verification am required that a state’s community fitness crisis declarations are usually only as robust given that the readiness of individuals to check out these people, all of us enable you to get skill games – the questionable play-for-pay computer game crowded in twos and threes in bars, convenience stores along with other people surrounding the county.
The state presented company owners one other reason never to hold all of them in guidances released due to the fact governor’s community overall health unexpected emergency announcement in March that reported partly:
“Operation of these products while in the latest medical unexpected emergency urges visitors to congregate needlessly that is banned according to the Governor’s order of March 19, 2020. Any business working, repairing or elsewhere sustaining a “Game of skills” is actually at the mercy of enforcement which could feature an order to suspend usually approved in-person operations.
However, in general, the machines will always be illuminated and exposed for businesses from inside the shop world today.
Carlisle citizen Lakisha Ramsey is happy that; earlier in the day recently, she instructed a reporter, she obtained $720 on a casino game called “Living Significant.”
Nevertheless means the situation is isn’t actively playing nicely with welfare such as the state’s industrial casino employees – have been expected to power down their particular gaming flooring during county in March – and then discover that their own less-regulated, lower-taxed counterparts tend to be continuous to take wagers like there’s little the next day.
Early recently, a casino-backed coalition combat for its abolition of your kind of ease gaming fired switched off an angry e-mail to convey lawmakers with a photograph of hands per hour taking place at a local store in Harrisburg’s Strawberry Square – equivalent creating, actually, that will be the place to find the Pennsylvania Gaming Control Board.
It’s combining ongoing anxiety over the legality belonging to the equipments by themselves that has placed many the police organizations from moving forward these people; the continued desire of players like Ramsey to enjoy and shop providers to maintain their company, and so the unspoken tip of that pandemic with usually spotted police officers training or giving warnings to rule breakers, in place of tossing the book at these people.
Capt. James Jones, operations principal for the Pennsylvania condition cops agency of alcohol controls Enforcement, which enforces regulation in and for the state’s pubs and eateries, stated his representatives provided news of infringement to a little bit of liquor licensees which remained available for take-out nutrients business and happened muchbetter deposit casinos to be permitting patrons to try out.
But a study of numerous cops and business associates this week discover no indicators that any comfort store-based employees have-been offered under the health emergency commands.
The game’s vendors are very pleading simple.
On their site, the Pennsylvania enjoyment and tunes maker relation keeps a statement suggesting their members “to quit functioning and maintaining all enjoyment video, most notably skill activities, in non?licensed places like ease and supermarkets” throughout community fitness crisis.
Matt Haverstick, lawyers as game-maker Pace-O-Matic of Pennsylvania, that is certainly now fighting the court fight which company hopes will settle all issues about its “Pennsylvania Skill Games” legitimacy forever, said POM had issued an equivalent advisory to its game hosts, asking these to unplug for now.
Although with police hamstrung and say law of the profession practically non-existent, those sector guidances rely on voluntary conformity, for PAMMA users, non-member suppliers, and the shop workers.
One stock holder, whom asked not to get recognized to go over the circumstance truthfully at his or her unbiased stock in Cumberland state, said he was expected by their provider to turn his or her adventures off in which he performed, for a few or 4 weeks.
But after some time, with subscribers fretting about this and permitting him or her find out about other storage the spot that the video game titles remained on, and a clear lower in leg site visitors, he or she consulted with their provider, transported the machines a few base moreover separated in the name of societal distancing, received some proper maintenance products, and blocked it well in.
From options like this over the independent store companies, players like Ramsey go to sales. Ramsey, a forklift operator and part-time hotels worker, was able to quickly rattle off the name of three storage in Carlisle just where she still has the activity. A fourth, she claimed, keeps unplugged.
Measures are increasingly being taken, Ramsey took note.
“What they’re undertaking now could be like causing you to be use goggles and gloves if you need to play the equipments,” she believed, including “most men and women bet about devices don’t desire a lot of everyone as a border around them in any event. Therefore, in her own point of view, there’s practically nothing over it that seems much more unsafe than a visit to the store.
“I would personally staying bored otherwise,” Ramsey believed, noticing that under the COVID-19 formula “it’s that way’s simple finally bit of satisfaction.”
Jones, because of the state cops, warned people along with their hometown the police couples aren’t surrendering permanently to the shop section of the companies.
Aside from the doubt of illegal playing, it is additionally an issue of fairness, they observed, for all the liquor licensees who’ve been mentioned or received appliances taken in the past.
“We have got strategies set up to start administration in those (non-liquor licensee) stores, and those rollers are typically in motion for a while,” Jones said. But because Liquor Management administration brokers don’t get common territory in other companies, you will find a need for some knowledge send through the department as a result investigations are actually handled regularly across the board.
And that also’s slowed when confronted with the ongoing legitimate queries and, nowadays, the pandemic.
“We have to weigh everything we do based on a risk-reward analysis and at this time without some urgency to prosecute these cases we’re going to go ahead and wait, for the most part, till the pandemic is over,” Jones said. “But the state police are definitely moving toward a more universal solution to the problem.”
Pace-O-Matic because businesses being flooding the market with regards to their skills activities in recent times. Haverstick projected the firm’s recent appliance consider in Pennsylvania at about 10,000 earlier on this coming year – which challengers say means they’ve effortlessly sent casino to place bars and convenience stores vendor status could respond.
Discover powerful welfare on both corners of your combat.
Sport makers, workers and the facilities they actually do company with – membership-based societal organizations, pubs and taverns that have assumed suspended away Pennsylvania’s developing casino pie. They claim talent video game titles have now been a bright area in a machine-leasing sector as soon as built on jukeboxes and video entertainment games which is recently been decimated nowadays by smart phones because modifications in the celebration community.
On the other side include state’s certified gambling casino, annoyed since the ability game titles manage without any 34 percent gaming taxation implemented within their slot machine profit; and the Pennsylvania lotto, whose manager argues that skills game tends to be a present and potential menace with the Lottery’s sales growth and, by extension, the service for seniors training.


text:
Apple’s newly appointed VP of Environmental Initiatives, and former head of EPA, Lisa Jackson spoke at Fortune’s Brainstorm Green conference earlier this week. The executive talked about a number of topics, including the iPad-makers various green projects.
Jackson noted that although Apple has done a good job reducing its carbon footprint over the past few years, it still has a long way to go. Their next major challenge, she says, is getting their 400+ retail stores around the globe to run on 100% on renewable energy…
Here’s the video of Jackson’s Fortune interview:
Here’s the bit on getting retail to go green:
It’s a lot harder to do the retail stores. They’re all over the place. In some places they’re in a mall…literally a shopping center. In some cases they’re standalone stores. But where they are in the grid and where they are in the world, the access to clean energy may or may not be a trivial exercise.
In addition to talking about Apple’s future green projects, Jackson touts that all of the company’s data centers are currently running on 100% renewable energy—thanks to large solar and fuel cell farms—and 94% of all its corporate facilities are renewable as well.
In April, Apple spent an entire week celebrating Earth Day by revamping its store logos with green leaves, expanding its recycling and trade-in programs, and more. The firm was also praised by Greenpeace for its efforts, and given a 100% Clean Energy Index score.


text:
Energy tariffs are too complicated for many customers to understand, a consumer watchdog has said.
Which? asked 36 members of the public to calculate the cost of a domestic energy bill using information from suppliers' websites but the task proved too difficult for all but one of the group. An accountant was among those who failed the test.
Richard Lloyd, executive director of Which?, said: "People tell us they want to be able to check they're paying the right price for their energy, and when even an accountant struggled to calculate a bill, it shows it's far too complicated.
"There are straightforward ways that consumers can cut their bills - for example by switching to online deals or paying by Direct Debit.
"But that won't help people to pick the best tariff for them.
"So Which? wants the regulator to stamp out excessively complex tariffs, across the board."
Twelve of those taking part in the test used the British Gas website, while 12 used Southern Electric and 12 used Eon. They were chosen for being the largest dual fuel suppliers.
The only person who correctly worked out how much they should pay a year, using standardised data rather than their own bills, was a company director.
Two companies which have a simpler tariff structure, Ebico Energy and Co-operative Energy, were also investigated. Of the 28 people who tested their websites, 10 successfully calculated the bill.
Keith Pledger, chairman and head of mathematics at exam board Edexcel, oversaw the test for Which? and said that even A-level maths students would find calculating a bill with British Gas's standard tariff a difficult task.
He said: "To calculate the cost, you needed first to understand the tariff's complexity, find the information on the website, apply several processes and make decisions on what calculations to do and when to do them.
"Grade A GCSE students would find this very challenging and many would get it wrong. Even A-level maths students would struggle.
"It's unrealistic to expect the public to be able to find the best deal when faced with such complex tariffs.
"Most people certainly wouldn't be able to find the correct cost for the energy they use."
Which? has launched the Affordable Energy campaign and is calling on Ofgem to bring in a simple format for all tariffs, to allow customers to compare them more easily.
Tim Yeo MP, chairman of the Energy and Climate Change Select Committee, said: "I welcome Which?'s investigation into the complexity of energy tariffs.
"The enormous number and unnecessary complexity of tariffs prevent consumers making easy comparisons and hinder switching.
"The Energy and Climate Change Select Committee will return to this issue if no action is taken."
An Ofgem spokesman said: "We welcome the research that Which? has done.
"We are already proposing radical action to cut down the number of complex and confusing tariffs following our investigation into the energy retail market.
"There are currently around 400 tariffs available and we are proposing new rules which will pare down the number of standard tariffs suppliers can offer, making it much easier for customers to pick out cheaper energy deals."


text:
iTunes and the EU
It is fair to say I am a bigger supporter of the European Union than most of my colleagues at Telegraph Towers. In fact sometimes it feels like I'm the only one in the building. However, even for somebody generally well disposed to the EU, it is often hard to see what real benefit we get from it as it increasingly seems like a 20th century institution offering 20th century solutions to 21st century problems.
The EU managed to have an effect on the cost of iTunes
I was therefore delighted to see headlines proclaiming how the iTunes had "bowed the knee" to the mighty EU and its competition powers and reduced the cost of downloading music tracks for UK consumers. I am an avid consumer of iTunes and reckon I download between a dozen and 20 tracks a month.
However, the small print revealed that the price cut the mighty EU had been able to achieve was just 5p, bringing the 79p cost of a track in the UK down to the 74p levied on the rest of Europe. Gee, thanks guys. No really, thanks a lot.
The real scandal is that iTunes can get away – thanks to its near-monopoly position – with charging European customers 79p while US music fans pay about 61p (for a better service) and Canadians less than that. Sadly, this seems outside the EU's remit.
HS2 – this time it's personal
July 3rd, 2013 14:16
Generation Y gives Tories some long term hope
June 19th, 2013 13:17
Like it or not, axing child benefit for the wealthiest is popular
June 5th, 2013 14:41
By standing up to Google over tax, Ed Miliband has given Dave a kicking
May 22nd, 2013 16:40
PMQs: A grim, goalless draw for Nick Clegg and Harriet Harman
May 15th, 2013 13:01


text:
Childhood obesity is rapidly becoming one of the greatest health concerns facing today’s youth. Since this epidemic rose to the levels it has today, scientists have been trying to find a correlation between the rising numbers of obese children and the environments in which they grow up. Simply put, the scientific community seems split between the causation of childhood obesity, is it nature or nurture? Is today’s world of mass produced food and additive laced everything the cause of today’s chunky tots or does parenting (or a lack thereof) and a general lack of care contribute to the expanding waist lines? Helene Pavlov, a Fellow of the American College of Radiology and the Radiologist in Chief for the Hospital of Special Surgery recently posted an editorial regarding her take on the issue. You can read her insights HERE.
Personally, I think the answer lies somewhere in the middle. Yes, today’s food – as a rule, is laced with additives, chemicals and very low quality products that are negatively impacting everyone, not just children, that consumes these products. However, no one is forcing these children to eat this way. In the end, it is up to the parents to put their children on the right path. They are the ones ultimately responsible for purchasing the food that hits the table and they are directly in control of a majority of what their kids eat. It’s been proven that if a child is raised on apples and other fruits instead of chips and soda, they will actually enjoy the natural sweetness of fruit and detest the artificial flavors in soda. Kids don’t automatically ‘like’ junk food – they are introduced to it as an easy (and low cost) means to eat.
They key to the last story was low cost – junk food as a whole is significantly cheaper than organic fruits and vegetables. Sadly, some people simply cannot afford to eat healthy. For those living on food stamps, it becomes even more problematic. Certain restrictions and guidelines exist for what can be used when purchasing with food stamps, but a majority of food stamp purchases can be used on junk – soda, chips – junk food. Then, the resulting health costs that arise from these poor eating habits eat away at the health insurance (Medicaid, Medicare etc.) provided by the tax payers. It’s a system where the poor or less fortunate are shoehorned into bad choices (more bang for their buck when buying junk food means they can get more out of their stamps) and then suffer from health issues due to those bad choices. Taxpayers end up footing the bill both ways and the less fortunate never receive a solid chance to get out of this circle.
Recently, New York City’s Mayor, Michael Bloomberg, proposed a change to the food stamp policy. Simply put, he wanted to see the ban of using food stamps to purchase soda. You can read about the ban HERE along with the reason why the USDA (sadly) rejected the proposal. In addition, you can read an interesting editorial on the debate HERE.
Obviously this thought process is a step in the right direction. Change the guidelines of what food stamps can be used for (no junk food), encourage the purchase of fresh foods (grains, vegetables, fruits) and you would be astounded of the positive turn around. The lower class would become healthier, the health care system funding could be spread more evenly and focus less on easily preventable disorders such as obesity and heart disease and a new culture of healthy eating would begin to be established for lower income children everywhere. It’s not as far fetched as one might think, and with a progressive healthy minded President leading our country; it’s a change I think we can expect to see. (Especially given the push Mrs. Obama has been making in changing children’s eating habits – this seems like a logical step).
While we’re discussing food stamps, the question should be raised; is it even possible to eat healthy when you’re living on only a food stamp budget? Karl Wilder, a professional chef from Minnesota decided to find out. He is on a two month long challenge to eat and live on only a food stamp budget. Essentially he has $4 a day to spend on feeding his family (approximately 1.33 per meal). You can follow his progress and see how tricky it can be to eat well on a food stamp budget HERE.
|Above: not directly related to the story, but a nice image of food stamp % in the US|
All too often, we seem to feature a story about a food safety recall or some form of contamination that has made half of the country sick. (Luckily this week there is no such story to share!) However, another large problem that the average home faces everyday is proper food storage and care. How can you be sure that you are storing, using and cooking food products in your home in the safest way possible? Greatist.com has compiled a handy food safety infographic that covers everything from how to spot spoiled food to how to thaw turkey in your refrigerator. Check this very cool infographic out HERE.
For most of Iowa the youth are back in school. Parents of children from other Midwestern states are gearing up to send their tots back to class as well. That means one thing – it’s time to celebrate! What better way to celebrate than with a summertime cocktail? Check out these whiskey based summertime cocktails HERE.
That’s all we have for you this week. It was light on quantity but hopefully we made up for it in quality! There were some big topics to cover this week – but we think it’s good to bring some of these topics to the forefront. Change is made possible through discussion of the issues after all! We’ve got another full week of cooking planned. I’ll be starting the cooking off this week on Wednesday and Maggie will close us out on Thursday. Be sure to stop in Wednesday night to see what I’ve got cooking. Until then,